Reviewed by Femflection
Research on women’s workplace issues shows that women have failed to support and improve each other’s workplace performance. Pat Heim and Susan Murphy, corporate consultants on gender issues, address this failure in their book “In the Company of Women: Turning Workplace Conflict Into Powerful Alliances.” Continue reading
Femsy was invited for dinner one evening during a big business event. She left the seat open so that somebody else who has less regular exposure to senior management could take the seat.
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A full 70% of jobs are found through networking, and 40% of job seekers say they found their dream job through a personal connection.
So, building a strong network of connections is crucial to career success.
Build your network way before you need it.
Make networking a part of your everyday routine, rather than relying on it only when you are desperate.
There are always new people to meet and relationships to deepen.
Give before you take!
A “How can I help you?”- attitude builds trust into any relationship. It shows you care about a person and that you are backing your caring up with concrete action.
As Adam Grant, professor at Wharton and author of Give and Take has found, the people who give more than they take go further and experience more success.
So I’m finally sitting in a meeting room with my boss. I hadn’t been able to talk with her for a few weeks now (which was getting pretty frustrating), so what I wanted to get out of the discussion had been changing quite a bit. She waits for me to take the lead. I decide to take a meta-level approach.
“I’m glad we have chance to talk. It feels like we’ve been… kind of … at odds with each other,” I confessed. “Maybe it’s me – I’m so keen to see progress and push forward in a ‘dynamic’ way that when the brakes go on, it’s difficult to understand. Then, at the same time, it seems you’re holding things back to prioritise ‘excellence’ in our work. Should we be rethinking those values together?” Continue reading
Mian is upset with Mansy because he is not taking the responsibility for her career planning.
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At work, we are programmed to act as if we know what we are doing, even in moments when we have no clue.
Managers and employees often act from the shared belief that being vulnerable at work is not acceptable, that it will result in perceptions of incompetence, lack of confidence and consequently a poor performance review.
We are often afraid to be vulnerable because it is associated with weakness. However it is a commonly experienced human feeling. None of us are exempt from feeling vulnerable at times. Continue reading
Identity has been on my mind lately.
As one sociologist said: “Most people define themselves by their job. When they retire, they need a narrative about who they are now.”
It is very easy to confuse “What we do” with “who we are”.
Until some years ago I didn’t realize how much I drew upon my work as the source of my identity.
I struggled to find out how I can ensure the commitment to myself to living a significant life.
If we’re not careful, our essence and identity can become absorbed by all of our titles: wife, mother, friend, daughter, employee, coach.
The key to maintaining your balance of self and to become the most authentic version of yourself is simply focusing on what makes you happy by regularly checking in with yourself.
Analyze yourself; I mean truly analyze yourself – this is easier said than done. It takes courage and honesty. If you are ready to face yourself then start with some basics such as:
There is no need to “tough it out on your own.” Find a friend who is also interested in personal development and who won’t judge the struggle you are experiencing.
It is all within your reach. Success!
Just yesterday, I came across a Harvard Business Review article titled “Great Leaders Embrace Office Politics”. Written by Michael Wenderoth, the article describes how, in the real world, our success is determined less by merit and more by perceptions and political skills. Michael’s writing is pragmatic and draws insights from top executives’ actual experiences, even his own. It also reminded me of the many warnings I have received about playing the office politics game. “It is there in every office. You cannot eliminate it, so you might as well play it,” a number of colleagues, relatives and friends have told me so over the years. Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago, we had a celebration dinner together with an ex-colleague. She got, in my opinion, a very well deserved promotion since she is incredibly smart, hardworking, and talented. I truly believe in her abilities and her values. I see it, I hear it and I feel it every time I talk to her.
I was surprised to hear that she doesn’t always feel the same.
She expressed the fear of being “found out” one day to be lacking the skills and intelligence she is perceived to have.
At the same time I felt like watching myself in a mirror. I also tend to diminish the significance of my achievements and attribute them to luck, a helping hand or other forces outside my control, rather than my own effort, dedication, and even intelligence. Continue reading
Have you ever met these types of business women who copy paste men’s style?
In our business lives we see many examples of how former subordinates begin to imitate their former boss’ style taking them as a role model for successful and effective management. Or business women demonstrate men’s styles, acting in a certain way to meet the norms set by others within a male-dominated business culture.
What is the reason behind the choice to imitate men’s styles? Is “copy paste” just the easiest way? Is it the thinking of being less competent than men? Is it lack of self-confidence to express who they are and to embrace a wider range of leadership characteristics needed to run an organisation effectively? Is it women’s fear to integrate more aspects of herself into an existing community? Or is it a strong inner setting that to be successful in the business world you should act and be like a man? Continue reading
Help you to succeed in life and work 